Dandelion
by Kroissant
Summary: She was kind and open, funny and sweet. And her voice…bright, and full of hope, just like her. She was a dandelion—gold amid the green, a little ray of sunshine, so vibrant and cheerful. Or, Felix is trapped in his depressing, miserable life and Annette as his guardian angel. First collab with my good friend Star on a staff and SS for Tori, starrymatcha on twitter.


**Yay, it's the new year!**

**I'm so excited to present you all with my first story of the year-but here's a surprise! My good friend, star_on_a_staff is here as my awesome co-writer! We collaborated together to write a very special (and late) secret santa gift to the one and only Tori/ starrymatcha from the discord server!**

**Oh, and star_on_a_staff says hi! (and please go and check out her profile in the link below! Trust me, you won't regret it, as she is the official queen of felannie angst!)br /**

** /users/Star_on_a_Staff/profile**

**The theme for this fanfic was based on this song, as requested by Tori, watch?v=suJqCw3SAZw**

* * *

The funeral lasted for three hours.

Those who are close to the Fraldarius family came early. Delivering heavy condolences and parting gifts—with many bouquets of white lilies and chrysanthemums—to drown the mourning widower and his two young sons.

Silence persists through the crowded large room, and not a mutter nor whimper stirs the peace.

When the clock strikes one in the afternoon, it was time to venture off into the grave and bury the 'Sleeping Beauty' six feet under.

The widower, along with his youngest brother and the rest of his close friends, band together to hoist the coffin high and carry it to the back of the funeral car. The two sons sluggishly stroll not too far behind, their footsteps heavy and a bit delayed.

The long car ride there was still quiet and awkward. Neither father nor sons could bare to look at each other in the eye.

Seven-year-old Felix clutches the single yellow flower in his small hands, keeping it close to him. Across from him was an empty seat, a reminder of their loss—a woman of interesting character, one of sharp tongue and wits, with notoriously dark humor to boot.

A good friend, loyal wife, and a wonderful mother.

She—Evangelina Diane Fraldarius—was gone.

Felix's favorite person in the whole world was gone.

And he was frightfully alone.

Two days since the funeral and the house was never the same.

Again and again, there would be fights between Rodrigue and his eldest son Glenn. The topic of each argument would be different yet obscure. Their loud bickering, bouncing back and forth on the thin covered walls, became common to hear, taming the heavy silence.

Felix didn't participate and would keep to himself inside his room.

He had shut himself away from his friends—Dimitri, Sylvain, and Ingrid who were also present in the wake of the funeral—and confining to hide under his blankets, pushing the pillows to his ears to mute the disturbance raging outside.

He closes his eyes to remember the times when his mother was still here…and how she would stroke his hair as he begins to doze off, help him to properly put on his clothes, and smiling whenever he requests to get a hug.

Mother was so warm, and she lit up every single room in the house.

Her soup was always a sheer delight, and she loved to plant and water their garden.

She was the glue of the family, an irreplaceable person.

But she was gone, and nobody was willing to listen to him.

Not even Glenn, who was the only other person he could count on.

Fed up with his broken family, Felix snuck out from the backdoor. He flees into the evening, leaving the zipper of his blue coat wide open and lets his tiny legs take him somewhere far.

Anywhere, really—so long as he could get away from the nonstop fighting and pounding headaches.

He came across the wide, open space of Loog Park.

There, he meets her.

Under the tall willow tree, a little girl around his age, sitting on the patches of grass, gathering flowers and making crowns out of them. Hair so bright and orange, tied up in ringlets. What caught his eye was her strange attire—a stark white dress and a light sweater, accentuated with silver and gold. It was thirty degrees outside, but the cold doesn't bother her.

She was a curious little creature. So little, frail, and alone.

Just like him.

Felix dares to take a step, and with a bit of courage, carefully approaches her.

Something lightly tickles his ears and he pauses.

He hears it, and he stands still.

**Deep in the meadow, under the willow**

**A bed of grass, a soft green pillow**

**Lay down your head and close your sleepy eyes**

**And when again they open the sun will rise**

Warm and inviting—like how his home used to be.

Felix's eyes slightly widen.

Soft and light, sweet and easy on the ear. This girl had the voice of an angel.

**Here it's safe, and here it's warm**

**Here the daisies guard you from all harm**

**Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**

**Here is the place where I love you**

He presses on, hungry to hear more of it.

But he missteps and his right foot accidentally hits a small branch, emitting a loud snap.

This alerts the girl, and quickly, their eyes clash.

Pretty blue eyes immediately turn fearful, and the girl freezes.

Felix watches her toss her crown of flowers violently to the ground, and just as she was ready to bolt out—

"WAIT!" He exclaims, his voice noticeably high and desperate. "STOP!"

Thankfully, the girl pauses.

She slowly looks over her small shoulder.

Once again, their eyes meet the second time.

She's still frightened by his sudden entrance, still shaken.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Felix calmly speaks as he walks over to her. His boots crunched on the powdery snow and stop again, maintaining a safe distance to separate them. He clears his throat, and continues, "I was just…passing by and heard you sing,"

The girl gasps loudly. "You heard me?" She backs away, covering her burning face with her two hands. "Oh no, oh no…"

"Umm…" Felix licks his lips, his eyes still fixed on her. "Why are you out here all by yourself?"

The girl peeks out from her hands. She takes a good look around, then shifts her gaze directly at him. "I could say the same thing for you,"

Felix frowns. "That's because…" His words turn faint, and his brain stops registering.

Images of his late mother resurface and haunt him, and he turns frozen solid. His legs get a little wobbly, and suddenly, it becomes unbearable to keep standing.

"Hey, you alright?"

Felix was sweating now, and he didn't know why.

It was getting difficult to breathe too.

Finally, legs gave up and he fell to his knees.

Seeing this, the girl was quick to rush to his side. "Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay?" She asks, growing worried. When it didn't help, she yells into his ear.

Felix yelps, eyes blinking rapidly and throat very dry.

"Are you still with me?"

Felix looks up and sees her again. A blush slowly creeps across his cheeks. She was so dangerously close; their noses were nearly touching. He wants to shove her away and raise his voice, but for some reason, the voice from the back of his mind tells him not to.

And so, he obeys.

"Hellooo? Are you listening?"

Felix looks up again and finds her waving her small hand at his face.

"Y-yeah…" He blurts out. He sits upright, sighing as he dips his head low.

The girl withdraws to give him some space. She sits with her knees on the grass, her hands placed on her lap and waits. "Wanna talk about it?"

Felix frowns. What did she say? He shoots her a weird look as if she grew two heads.

"This is a safe place to talk about anything," The girl points out, and spreads his arms high in the air. She flashes her white teeth, though she was quick to close it. "But if it's too personal with you, then you don't have to."

"Are you saying…that you'll listen?" Felix asks softly, with hopeful eyes.

She nods earnestly. "Of course," She guarantees, and beams. "That's what I'm here for,"

Felix mulls the thought over and later confides. "I miss my mother," He admits, loud for her to hear. And he waits to let the silence sweep in.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," The girl says, and Felix tries hard not to show weakness, much less cry in front of her. "It must be pretty hard,"

He swallows. "It sure is,"

"Were the two of you close?"

"Very," Felix admits again, and his tense body relaxes. "She knew what I like and what I don't like," A faint smile materializes on his lips. "She was caring and made me feel safe. Other than Glenn, mother was my favorite person,"

The girl tips her head. "Glenn? Who's he?"

"My brother," Felix clarifies, and he watches her lit up like the sun.

"Wow! You are so lucky!" Rubbing her right elbow, she manages a half-hearted grin. "I don't have a brother or sister so I can't relate,"

The weight on Felix's shoulders is no more. The inside of his stomach blossoms, and it's foreign to him. This girl was not so bad to talk to.

"What's your name?"

"My name? It's Annette,"

"Annette…" The name rolls off his tongue quite nicely, and he likes it. "Mine's Felix,"

Annette beams. "Nice to meet you,"

For the first time in a while, Felix manages to crack a genuine smile. "Yeah," He replies, "Same here,"

In the next half hour, the two kids stayed under the willow tree, chatting up a storm.

And for Felix, he couldn't bring himself to stop. It had been too long since he talked to someone, to a complete stranger no less.

But this stranger was different than the rest.

She was kind and open, funny and sweet.

And her voice…bright, and full of hope, just like her.

She was a dandelion—gold amid the green, a little ray of sunshine, so vibrant and cheerful.

The sun sets, and it was time to head home.

"Will I see you again?" Felix asks, and Annette nods.

"I'll be here, don't worry!"

Felix grins bids farewell and sprints off.

He steps into the house and quiet settles.

No shouting, no footsteps. Felix sneaks through the halls and spots his father lying fast asleep on a couch with bottles of half-empty liquor on the coffee table. He ignores this and climbs to the stairs, to his left where his bedroom awaits his return.

"Where have you been?"

Quickly, Felix turns his head and finds his older brother emerging from his room down the hall. Felix stands there, eyes wide and afraid of what might happen next.

"I was looking all over for you, you know," Glenn raises his voice, "I almost called the cops,"

Felix squirms in his spot, avoiding direct eye contact. "I'm sorry," He mumbles out of habit.

Strong arms envelop around him, and he blinks, confused.

He looks to his brother—a little worn and his low ponytail a little disheveled. Eyes are red and heavy with bags, as he hadn't been sleeping properly.

Felix feels hot breath prickling the nape of his neck, and then the low, baritone voice of his brother speaks up.

"You had me worried sick," Glenn whispers and tightens his hold around his baby brother. "I thought I lost you too,"

"But you didn't," Felix finishes and smiles when he hears Glenn rumbling chuckle. "What about Father?"

"Don't worry about that stupid old man," Glenn spats out, his words dripping in poison. "He's useless." Breathing heavily, he tears away from Felix and pats him on the head. "So tell me, where'd you been? Did you go and meet up with Dimitri and the others or something?"

Felix shakes his head.

Then he remembers the girl he had met earlier, and he puts on a smile, his stomach filled up with warmth. "I made a new friend,"

* * *

The two met again under the willow tree.

Annette begins the conversation, and Felix would follow after.

Almost every single day, it was something new.

They would play hide and seek—Annette's favorite game, and when they grew tired of it, they would rotate and do Felix's favorite, divide and conquer. It was an endless adventure, full of laughs and smiles, mayhem and mishaps.

As a bonus, Felix also got to know a little more about his new friend.

Her full name was Annette Fantine Dominic, and she lives with her Uncle and mother. Her father left and never came back. She loved to eat marshmallows, stroll in the morning, and pluck out flowers in the garden to make flower crowns. And she loved to sing, more than anything else in the whole world.

Sadly, she refuses to sing for him.

"It's just too embarrassing," She exclaimed, blushing madly as she covers her ears. "I'd rather die than let anybody hear me!"

As much as Felix wishes to hear her sing again, she was still a blast to hang out with.

Like a breath of fresh air, Annette was hopeful and riveting.

And the more Felix spends time with her, the sadness and sorrow begin to pale in comparison to the shining, shimmering warmth bathing him.

* * *

Five years later and their friendship is still intact.

Same time and place—four o'clock in the afternoon, he still visits Annette under the shade of the willow tree, who still wears the same ridiculous white dress, complementing well with her lovely, freckled skin.

Felix doesn't question and remains there, sometimes working on his assignments or reading books. Annette would sit next to him, humming as she makes more flower crowns. After weaving one, she puts it on his head and tells him not to take it off.

Felix lets her do so, and as he lays his back against the bark of the tree, he lets his eyes wander off to his dear friend collecting more flowers in the nearby garden. He faintly smiles at this, drinking her in and feeling somewhat at peace.

Times have changed, to say the least.

The Fraldarius home was different.

Rodrigue had stopped drinking and pulled himself together. At the cost of him being sober, he paid more attention to Glenn than him.

It was expected after all.

Glenn, the heir, was to take over the family business and Felix, the spare, would be left with nothing. This meant he would need to survive on his own. Look for a job he can tolerate and carve a path different from his older brother.

Not that he minded, really.

If worse comes to worst, Felix considers enlisting in the Police Academy. His other friends are planning to do the same, so at least there would be a few familiar faces there.

Speaking of the future...

"Annette,"

"Hmm?"

"Have you thought about what to do in ten years?"

Annette stops what she's doing and contemplates.

"I don't know, really," She mumbled, and there's a strange sense of worry clouding her usual cheeriness. "I don't…I mean, uh," She sneaks a quick look at Felix and when she caught him looking at her, she fidgets. "There's more time to think about it, so…"

Felix lets it go and smiles. "That's true," And lays back down, making himself comfortable against the tree bark. "The future's still too far to think about,"

He doesn't notice but Annette smiles sadly, twirling the white dandelion in her hand.

"Yeah…the future,"

Felix had one but she didn't.

Not that she'd recall. And even if she did, the future she secretly wishes wouldn't really…

Annette closes her eyes and breathes in. She glances at her sleeping friend, then to the white dandelion. He doesn't know yet, does he?

Bringing the flower close to her mouth, she blows it gently, letting the tiny feathery seeds fly away into the crisp, afternoon skies.

* * *

It happened instantly.

Ten minutes ago, Glenn wished Felix good luck with his exam before driving off into the night with his motorcycle.

The next, he was gone.

There had been an accident at Kyphon bridge, and Dimitri's father, Lambert, was taken as well. It had been a planned terrorist attack from a hidden organization.

Another funeral in the works.

When the two weeks pass and the dreadful day arrives, it hits Felix the most.

He remains in his seat, quiet and refusing to look at the dead corpse of his eighteen-year-old brother.

Close friends and colleagues.

Condolences and pity.

Flowers of white and yellow.

A visit to the gravesite, and a second burial.

It was all the same damn thing.

Glenn Eugène Fraldarius—Felix's eldest brother of six years, and his second favorite person, passed on. And like mother, he was never coming back.

Felix was the surviving heir.

The fate of their family company now rests on his shoulders.

What does his father do?

As usual, he copes with drinking.

This time, twice more so as he also lost a best friend. He stops coming home, and stays overnight, more times than he could count, at the Blaiddyd residence to take care of the orphaned Dimitri.

Ingrid, who looked up to Glenn the most, had locked herself up in her room and wept for many days on end.

As the oldest of their quarter, Sylvain naturally took up the duty as their surrogate big brother. He checks up on them from time to time but would later get swamped by his new responsibilities. Like Felix, he would take on a position he was never prepared for.

Felix's plans to forge his own future gets jeopardized.

At the cost of his brother's life, he was to be a prisoner of his family's fortunes.

His useless father was never around, and soon, it became unbearable for Felix to live there.

He wants to run and scream—to get away from the hellhole he was thrown into without consent. He wants to bawl his eyes out, to mourn for his brother properly…the person who practically raised him.

Then one night, Felix remembers.

The willow tree.

Annette.

He wants to see her.

He _needs _to see her.

And so, he escapes—away from the place he calls 'home' and into Loog Park, letting his legs carry him to his destination.

To his surprise and relief, she's still there, still waiting, like she'd said she would be.

Felix pounces, running to her arms, and gripping her tight as if she were his lifeline.

"Felix?"

"He's gone," He speaks a little too quiet, but she catches it.

"He?" Annette repeats, furrowing her brows. "Who's he?"

Felix opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

Annette reaches out, stroking his cheek. His body trembled under her touch. The moment he feels her rub his broad back with her warm hand, his walls collapse.

He cries with all his might, cries as if today were to be his last.

He cries for his brother, for his father, for his broken family, for his future.

He cries for all of them, and when he does, rain falls heavy and the pair get caught in the midst of the downpour.

They get soaked to the bone, Annette especially with her white dress revealing her developing chest and undergarments.

Annette squeaks but is quick to recover. She fixes her gaze on the grieving twelve-year-old clutching tightly onto her.

His face was buried deep on the side of her neck, and arms wrapped securely around her waist.

He was incredibly warm.

Annette closes her eyes, going on her tiptoes. She snakes her arms around his neck and pulls him close, stroking his long, dark mane comfortingly.

"Shhh...it's alright now," She says in his ear, soft and gentle. "Cry for as long as you need to," She closes her eyes and with a fixed set of lips, slants her head to press it against his. "I'm right here,"

Felix grabs a fistful of her orange hair and his breathing hitches.

He holds tightly of her words and keeps it to himself.

Inside his head, Felix replays her promise.

How he wishes for her to say it out loud, just one more time.

* * *

Since Glenn's death, the pair grew a lot closer.

Annette took it upon herself to make him feel better. Every time Felix pays her a visit, she would always have something to give to him. In the first few days, she kept a wicker basket close, surprising him with many of his favorites—spicy dishes packed with meat.

In most cases, the food would be either burned, undercooked, seasoned too much or too little.

Thankfully, Felix didn't seem to mind.

Truth be told, he generally liked her cooking.

It was clear how much effort she puts into each of them.

Full of heart and energy, just like her character.

But of all the surprises she had in store, his favorite would be her little musical numbers.

It suddenly occurs to him that the last time he'd heard her sing was on the day they first met. He remembered how angelic she sounded, and with her iconic white dress, was as pure as the driven snow. At that moment, he had accidentally mistaken her to be a celestial being.

In a sense, her very presence was like that to him.

A 'literal' angel sent by Sothis above to help guide him—lost and wayward.

* * *

One day, Felix feels a little funny.

It wasn't like the ones he'd previously experienced. It was new, and a little exciting.

A strange feeling that only happens whenever he was around Annette.

When she smiles, his heart would beat twice as fast.

When she sings, he feels at peace.

Whenever she stares or gives him 'that' look, he gets easily flustered and stammers uncharacteristically.

But when she laughs, Felix can't register anything else.

All he can see and hear was her and her only.

How odd.

Why only her?

With the others, it wasn't quite the same.

"You're in love,"

Felix turns his head, frowning. "What?"

His childhood friend, Sylvain, flashes a toothy grin.

Felix sighs and shakes his head. "Don't give me that load of bullshit, Sylvain,"

Sylvain snickers. "Say what you will, but the signs are obviously there!" He says and puts his arms behind his head. "No use denying it!"

Felix rolls his eyes. He looks away, but the blush still manages to creep in.

Sylvain catches this and grins broadly. "Hah! I knew it! So, tell me, who's the lucky lady?" He goes on, poking his friend on the side of his cheek. "She must be real special to have melted your frozen heart,"

Felix blushes harder.

"Let me guess...Ingrid?"

Felix shoots him a blank look.

"Nope? Then maybe...Leonie?"

No response.

"Lysithea? Bernadetta? Dorothea?"

"Shut up!" Felix suddenly cries, clearly infuriated. "That's it. I'm out of here," He rises from his desk, quickly making his way out of the classroom.

"Wait, Fe! Come back!" Sylvain hollers in the background, "Class is about to start!"

Felix rolls his eyes and stomps harder, though not before giving him the middle finger as he briskly walks out the door. He heads off to the open gardens, hoping to do some kendo practice to clear his head. He wanders through the halls aimlessly and as he turns the corner, stops to stare at the open gardens.

A bright flash of yellow catches his eye.

Swiftly, he's on the move, and smiles, captivated by the sight. Everywhere he looked, there was brightly colorful dandelion—white and yellow, as far as he could see. He gently plucks one and inspects it.

So small, and easy on the eye.

Vibrant and full of joy.

A memory triggers, and instantly, he pictures Annette lying next to him, smiling and laughing. Arms spread open wide and like a flower, drinking the flow of sunlight as if it were her 'nutrients'.

His eyes soften, his heart pounding harder, faster.

"You're in love,"

Sylvain's words echo loudly in his head and he flinches.

"The signs are obviously there!"

Reminded of this, Felix's face begins heating up. He swallows, covering his mouth with his clamoring right hand. He spots the dandelion, still in his grasp, and the more he stares longer…

"She must be real special to have melted your frozen heart,"

Felix musters a smile.

He looks over his shoulder, but the imaginary Annette vanished, like a fleeting dream.

Still, he could hear her infectious, bubbly laughter ringing soundly in his ear, mystifying and hypnotizing him.

He loves how her smile can reach up to her eyes, how her laugh can be so sweet and delicious to listen to, how she always sees the good in people and not the bad, how brilliantly intelligent she is and is there to give him a hand with his homework, how delightfully ditzy, kind, considerate she can be. Her singing does wonders to him, her spunky liveliness inexhaustible and keeps him going to this very day, his driving force, his energy.

Her very being was exhilarating—just being with her, Felix felt like he could take on the world.

He was utterly helpless and vulnerable.

A captive trapped under her spell.

And he loves it.

He—Felix Hugo Fraldarius—loves _her_.

* * *

"Do you like anybody?"

Felix blinks and lowers his book to stare at his friend.

Annette casts a curious look at him, and he blushes.

Felix clears his throat and avoids her gaze. He wasn't quite sure what to think of it. "Where'd that question come from?"

From the corner of his eye, he notices her fidgeting with the flower crown in her hand. She laughs nervously, shrugging. "No reason. Just a tad bit curious,"

Felix nods and closes his book. He sits upright, his back still pressed on the bark of the willow tree. He could feel the intensity of her stare at him and he squirms in his seat. What should he say?

_I'm in love with you, Annette._

_Hopelessly, and irretrievably in love with you._

_So much so, it hurts to know that you are not mine yet._

Yeah, that's it.

Okay, now for the moment of truth.

Felix steels himself, ready to tell her of his feelings, but instead, he stumbles, and it becomes…

"There's...nobody…that I...really like..." Felix pauses and breathes in. Damn it, what was he doing, just pausing midway? He needs to finish his sentence. He needs to tell her right here, and now. He looks up to face her again, ready to give it another shot. But it's already too late.

Annette already catches wind of his half-battered sentence and stares at him with big, wide eyes.

"What? You can't be serious!?" She cries all of a sudden, catching him off-guard. "I mean, look at you!"

Felix furrows his eyebrows, still burning from embarrassment. "Me?"

Annette nods.

"Yeah, you!" She affirms, "How could you not have someone already? You're so smart, very cool and athletic, not to mention irresistible" Felix blushes madly at this slip. "And you're from a prestigious family! I mean, come on! You are a big catch! The whole package!" She places her finished flower crown on her lap and shakes her head. "I just don't get it at all," She sighs, her eyes upset and disappointed. "Any girl or boy would be so lucky to be with you…"

"But none of them are you," Felix wanted to tell her.

But he knew he couldn't, all thanks to tripping his words. He glances at her way, and a thought crosses his mind.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

Felix relays the same question she had asked him before. He expects her to laugh and debunk it but gets the opposite.

She's blushing intensely.

Felix becomes intrigued and dares to lean a little more, in hopes of hearing what she might have to say.

His heart was pounding nonstop.

He watches Annette rub her hands together, and slowly, a smile makes way on her lips.

"...Actually, I do have someone in mind," And she looks up at the sky, "He's really cute and very cool…" She began, her voice starting out soft, "He works hard for his family, but really, deep down, he's got a big heart. He's incredibly perspective, always there to listen to whatever I have to say…" Something comes to mind and she claps her hands, beaming. "Oh, and not to mention, very humorous and—"

Felix listens to her go on and on of her obvious crush.

The more he hears, the restless he gets.

All these qualities she kept listing of this person—none of them fit him at all.

And so, he remains there, feeling hurt as he listens patiently to her, enduring it until she finally ran out of things to say about this stranger.

And when she did, he was quick to throw in a comment, "This person must mean a lot to you,"

"He does," Annette agrees, and with a smile, she looks at him and adds, "He's my first love, after all,"

Felix sits there, unable to think clearly.

He grips his hands tightly, turning them white. He says nothing and lets the silence drag on.

It was unbearable to stay here.

Annette's words, full of praise and joy to the person who he hardly knew, was tormenting.

He hates it and wants to get out of here and run.

And so, he takes his book and stands up.

"I have to go."

"But you just got here—"

"I have finals in two days," Felix lies through his teeth, taking his bag and gripping his book hard. He refuses to look at her, he couldn't bear to look at those big, blue eyes without feeling hurt. He leaves quickly before she could wish him luck.

He speed-walks back home, storming into the door.

Naturally, nobody was there to welcome him.

Felix rushes up the staircase to get to his room, and once he enters, tosses his bag on the bed. Breathing harshly, he hits his back against the door and slides down the floor, his book falling out from his hand in the process. He settles his head into his arms and remains there.

Felix closes his eyes shut, and the first thing that pops into his head was Annette.

His dear, sweet Annette, smiling ever so brightly, so pretty as a picture. And she's under the willow tree, the place where they would always meet, and is together with someone...that's not him.

His heart cracks and all he could do, what he really can do, was to be confined by the stillness of the silence.

* * *

Time passes, and it's like everything and nothing has changed.

Rodrigue, looking paler and more bloodshot than ever, pulls enough of himself together to begin preparing Felix for the role of heirship. There are hourly sessions with tutors, the same exact professionals who until a few years ago have been bending over Glenn's shoulders examining his paperwork instead of his own.

There are endless retinues of meeting prestigious so-and-so's, forcing polite conversations with powerful and faceless CEO's, and soon Felix wants to tear his hair out and scream at the absurdity and unfairness of it all.

The willow tree fills him with too many complicated emotions now.

On the one hand, he craves the presence of Annette, sweet smiling Annette, just as much as his father craves drink. He craves the way her eyes light up when she speaks of things she likes, the way she sort of bounces in place when she gets too excited chattering about them. He soaks in the sunshine of her smile, which outshines the brightest of the summer sun in all its intensity.

And on the other hand….

_"...Actually, I do have someone in mind...he's really cute and very cool…He works hard for his family, but really, deep down, he's got a big heart. He's incredibly perspective, always there to listen to whatever I have to say…Oh, and not to mention, very humorous and—"_

Felix's hands clench as the memory of Annette's words sweep through him. Worst of all, he remembers the faint blush of pink on her nose and cheeks, which made her face glow even under the shadows of the willow tree.

Whoever she's talking about, Annette is so clearly in love with him that Felix feels like he's suffocating, as if something sour has infected his insides and filled with him a pure distaste for someone he hasn't even met.

He wants to hate this person, this unknown stranger, but how could he hate someone who makes her eyes shine like two round blue moons?

And yet, like a magnet, Annette's presence draws Felix ever to the willow tree.

He knows that this would lead to trouble later on, perhaps to some overly dramatic confrontation with whoever Annette is in love with, but with an absent-eyed father, friends scattered to the four winds, and the only other people who would have understood him both six feet under, Annette is the only person who can coax a smile from him in these grey days.

"You look tense," Annette says one day under the willow tree, poking at his forehead.

"I'm just tired," Felix tells her, which is the truth. He is tired of a lot of things.

She presses her lips together in a frown, and Felix wants to kiss that pout off of her face.

But he doesn't. Because she is in love with somebody else.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Annette asks him, gently. She is always so gentle with him. He is so weak for her, to her.

Felix very quickly squashes those feelings under a feeble metaphorical foot. "It's...nothing."

Annette gives him another look, the look that she has practiced for the five years that they have known each other for, a look that says, "I know better than what you are saying."

But she doesn't make him say anything. She simply holds out an arm, and Felix falls into it with a speed that should embarrass him, but it only makes Annette giggle softly as she pulls him close and begins humming.

**Deep in the meadow, under the willow**

**A bed of grass, a soft green pillow**

**Lay down your head and close your sleepy eyes**

**And when again they open the sun will rise**

She's not singing outright. But he recognizes the tune.

It's soothing. It makes him shudder because he knows that this is dangerous territory, that this is altogether more couple-y than what is probably appropriate, but he is only human, and so Felix dozes in her arms as Annette hums with a muted sweetness that makes the bitterness ebb away in the warmth of her voice.

He thinks he could make it through a hundred more years of shitty fathers and cold-eyed businessmen if it meant that he could sleep forever in her arms.

* * *

For a while, the nightmares pause their whispering. The world becomes a little kinder, a little more gracious, and Felix wonders vaguely if this is what "normal" feels like.

Rodrigues's life revolves around Dimitri now, and though the bitterness remains, like a sticky aftertaste, Felix feels as if he has more room to breathe now. The hectic schedule of daily life doesn't necessarily slow but rather mellows into something manageable and less shitty from whatever the crazed whirlwind of adjusting to life post-Glenn was like before.

It's far from his ideal dream. There are too many empty holes, too many empty rooms in the Fraldarius' large and silent house. But Felix falls into bed in less blacker moods than before, and so he considers it an improvement.

It helps that Dimitri, Sylvain, and Ingrid had wriggled their way back into his life like flowers pushing their determined, stubborn ways through cracks in asphalt.

It starts with intermittent text messages, simple little things like a request to eat dinner somewhere together (Ingrid), a thoughtful reminder that their favorite meat hawker's stand is reopening again (Dimitri), an offer for spontaneous and out-of-the-blue blind dates for all three of them (Sylvain), a sudden frantic text for help after another totally unrelated dinner date goes horribly wrong (Sylvain again), followed by a session of intense scolding from Dimitri, Ingrid, and Felix aimed directly and unforgivingly at the red-headed philanderer until Felix wants to explode from an altogether different kind of daily frustration.

It's stupid.

It's childish and immature.

But for the first time since Mother's death, Felix begins to smile even out of reach from the willow tree.

Things escalate after the first round of text messages. Sylvain buys a new car and offers to drive them to new and exciting places. Anticipating the nature of these "new" and "exciting" places, Felix declines with scathing speed. Dimitri and Ingrid team up to wheedle Felix into joining them for dinner at the very least.

"It'll be like old times."

It's not like old times, Felix wants to say, petulantly. Glenn used to be here, driving us everywhere because he was the first of us to get a driver's license and the only one brave enough to steal our old man's car out of the garage. He was the one who teased the best, the one who knew when to shut up and when to speak, and the one who we all idolized like no one else. Without him, it will never be like old times.

But Felix doesn't say any of that. Because it's common sense not to unearth the dead when they're already buried.

And so, grudgingly, he lets himself be crammed into the back of Sylvain's obnoxiously flashy convertible to be sped off to what becomes a monthly, then a weekly habit of dinners and karaoke nights and late-night drives with the flap down, the wind in their hair and whoops in their throats.

Felix still travels to the willow tree, on the days where his temper runs high and more than a few fine-suited businessmen had left the office doors paler than death muttering about the temper of the Fraldarius' kid, so unlike his late, calmer brother.

But he comes to the willow tree less and less often, but it's not as if the allure has lessened.

If Sylvain, Ingrid, and Dimitri have become to him like a percussive drumbeat, insistent but driving, giving order and regularity to his life again, then Annette is still the sweet melody of a songbird, painting his world in colors he had never thought to look for before.

The two forces are what puts a brighter shine to Felix's eyes and a firmer step to his gait. It's healthy. It's progressive.

Annette remarks on this obvious change on one balmy evening, tugging braids into his hair as she speaks up playfully.

"You look marginally less grumpy." Her voice is teasing, and it makes something akin to mischief bubble in his chest.

"Am I not allowed to be?" Felix fires back.

Annette laughs, and it's so bright and golden that he peers up to lazily grin through his bangs at her. Her sure fingers falter a little in his hair before she resumes work with ferocious resolve.

"I'm just saying, you're looking happier than I've seen you in a long time." Her blue eyes are thoughtful in a way that makes her entire face look dreamlike in the evening glow of the sun, and for a wildly impossible moment, Felix wants to tug her down into his arms and never let her go.

_"Actually, I do have someone in mind…"_

A cold reminder of what exactly stood between him and her.

Annette's light chatter brushes aside the dark cobwebs lining his heart. "I'm just glad that you're happy, is all." Her gaze is a little wistful, almost sad, and Felix wonders why.

"Are you not happy?" He blurts out like the mouthy idiot he is.

Thankfully for both his dignity and sanity, Annette just giggles, the quiet shadow that had fallen over her face vanishing like the morning fog. "Oh, no! It's just kind of cute to see you happy and smiling like this. Your friends must really be wonderful people."

"I wouldn't call them that." Felix mutters out loud while his brain unhelpfully replays the words "cute" over and over again with gleeful insistence. "Sylvain and Blaiddyd have their issues. Ingrid's the only sane one of us all."

Annette snorts a little, a soft little undignified sound, and his heart grows three times bigger in his chest.

"I'm glad." Her voice is quiet, thoughtful, and again he wonders why.

But right now her fingers are in his hair, and it feels like the best of dreams, right here under the drooping willow bathed in evening sunlight, and so Felix allows himself to close his eyes and to dream of a laughing, fiery-haired girl dressed in white who takes his hand and pulls him away from the willow tree to a gleaming, sun-drenched horizon.

* * *

One day, the dream crashes.

Coincidentally, so does the limousine of Dimitri Alexander Blaiddyd.

But it's not Dimitri who dies, even though the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle was so clearly aiming at the passenger's side of the car. Instead, it is Felix's own father who bleeds out smiling up at Dimitri's tearstained face, and it is Dimitri who is the one who holds Rodrigue as he dies, and it is Dimitri who calls Felix to sob out the news on the end of a garbled receiver.

When Mother died, Felix had wept, hurt and confused like the bereft child he was. When Glenn died, Felix had cried angry, frustrated tears, furious at the circumstances of fate that had killed his brother.

But when Rodrigue died, Felix feels as if all the color in the world has drained, leaving a white and black canvas behind. When Dimitri ends the call, Felix sits in silence for a while before picking up the same phone

The funeral is a magnificent event, as befits the head of a prestigious company. Felix feels nothing as they lower the outrageously expensive fine-wood coffin into the damp earth, next to Mother, next to Glenn. This time, there's no one left to stand with him, except for Dimitri, and that fact alone makes Felix want to laugh and cry at the same time.

During the reception, there are many finely-dressed people who come up to him to offer their condolences, and one old drunken CEO, adds in the same breath, a congratulations for becoming the head of Fraldarius Co. at such an early age.

Felix feels his arm pulling backward and before he could clock the bleary-eyed man in the face, Dimitri yanks him back with the inhuman strength the Blaiddyd are famous for.

"Rodrigue wouldn't want you to do this," Dimitri says to him, his eyes cold and fierce, unshed tears threatening to spill out.

Something foul erupts from inside him.

Felix snarls at the taller man, uncaring of all the foreign eyes upon them. "Oh, I'm sure you would know. Well, he wasn't your father, no matter how you both obviously wanted it to be true."

Dimitri recoils.

Felix shakes off his arm and stalks off just as it begins to rain.

Like every other time before this, Annette is sitting beneath the willow tree, gazing up at the stormy heavens when Felix stumbles up the hill towards her.

"Oh, Felix!" She smiles at him, and then it drops off her face when he all but crashes into the grass by her feet. He's shaking, not quite sobbing, but he can't make a single coherent sound and the world is spinning and everything is the color of cold, fierce, grieving blue and-

"Shhh." Annette kneels by him, hauling him up with a strange strength that belies her tiny white-clothed frame. Her hands are warm against the rain-soaked ice of his cheeks, and Felix shivers violently against her, desperate sounds tearing from his throat.

"It's okay, it's okay," Annette repeats, her voice soft and tender, and Felix feels something that sounds mortifyingly close to sob leave his throat as she strokes his hair. "I'm right here."

"What right-" Felix chokes out, gripping her tiny body close to hers with a grip that would surely frighten a weaker person, "What right does he have to cry over that bastard's death?! He's my father, he's my father-"

"Hey, hey." Annette rests his chin on her shoulder. "Shhh. It's okay, it's okay, I'm right here."

"Annette," Felix says over and over again until his voice runs ragged, "Annette-"

Her hand runs over the rumpled mess of his hair gently. Words pour out of him with every stroke of her hand.

"I'm so tired." Felix rasps. "I'm so tired of everything."

"Oh, Felix…"

"I don't want to be alone." He says into her neck like a child, like a lost, parentless, orphaned child. That's right, He's an orphan now. "Don't leave me alone."

Annette bends down to hug him even closer, and there's a tremble in her voice when she asks, "If you want...I can sing for you if you'd like."

Felix nods mutely against her chest. He's almost ashamed of his eagerness, of his desperation to drown out the screaming in his head, but right now he couldn't care less.

Annette does a bit of maneuvering. She settles her legs more comfortably on the grass and lays his head in her lap. Felix's limp in her grasp, worn out from exhaustion and filled with a hollowness that he hasn't felt before, so he doesn't fight her when she tucks him into the softness of her body and lays a cool hand on his forehead.

"Close your eyes." Annette murmurs. Felix wants to look at her face, wants to drink in all the round-moon beauty of her cheeks and eyes, but she's blushing and looking anywhere but at his face. She's embarrassed, even though he will not love her any less even if she were to balance on her nose and bark like a seal.

On any other day, Felix would tackle and wrestle her into the sweet damp grass growing around the willow tree. He would grin as Annette squeals and bats at his chest with her small hands, and he would tease her about her kitten strength before her eyes would flash and she'd knock him to the ground with a huff.

They would laugh. And he would continue to love her like the utter fool he is.

But since he is heart-weary, tired, and thirsty for any semblance of comfort, Felix obeys her simple command and lets his eyes fall shut.

Annette hums in gratitude above him, and after clearing her throat, she begins to sing.

**Deep in the meadow, under the willow**

**A bed of grass, a soft green pillow**

**Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes**

**And when again they open, the sun will rise**

Felix feels the knots in his stomach begin to unwind. His breathing shutters as Annette's voice, as dulcet as the first day that he had heard her long ago, rises and falls with the simple cadence of her lyrics.

His hand, which had been lying limp on the grass, threads tentatively through hers, and though her voice wobbles a bit in surprise, Annette squeezes back, and his heart cries.

**Here it's safe, here it's warm**

**Here the daisies guard you from every harm**

**Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**

**Here is the place where I love you**

The lyrics are soothing. They are a lullaby, perhaps written by some long-ago mother for her restless infant. But the last three words of the stanza seize his attention, and Felix feels as if he is choking as Annette, the girl who had always been his guardian angel, gives those tender words the adoring smile that always accompanies their heartfelt message.

Annette pauses after the chorus, her fingers feathering over his bangs in a silent question. He tightens his hold on her hand in affirmation, answering her query in a desperate little squeeze.

Continue. Please.

And so she does.

**Deep in the meadow, hidden far away**

**A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray**

**Forget your woes and let your troubles lay**

**And when again it's morning, they'll wash away**

Annette gets braver as she continues into the second stanza. Her voice doesn't waver at the end words, and she's found that one spot in her throat where her voice becomes clear and bright. It's sweet as a bell now. Felix revels in her confidence.

**Here it's safe, here it's warm**

**Here the daisies guard you from every harm**

**Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**

**Here is the place where I love you**

Her fingers slipped from his hand to caress his hair, and a small part of Felix wishes that she doesn't have to let go. But the greater part of Felix is still fixated on those three little words, those infuriating, wildly adoring words. And judging, by the way, her voice hiccups over them, Annette is all too aware of it as well as she repeats the last line, almost to herself.

**Here is the place where I love you**

For a moment, her voice wavers, and Annette falls silent. The silence stretches for a blushing, awkward moment, but then Annette sucks in a deep breath and plunged determinedly into the third, final stanza.

**Deep in the meadow, hidden far away**

**A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray**

**Forget your woes and let your troubles lay**

**And when again it's morning, they'll wash away**

The words are the same. But Annette's voice has dropped an octave, deeper and throatier. It's suddenly so much more intimate, and Felix feels a dreamy sort of haze drop over everything; the whisper of leaves above his head, the feathering touches of her fingers around his hair, and the breathing of the girl bending over him. His breathing slows, and soon, the undeniable pull of sleep begins to tug on his senses. Annette seems to sense this, for her words slow for the final chorus.

**Here it's safe, here it's warm**

**Here the daisies guard you from every harm**

**Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**

Her hands still on his head, and her voice catches. Annette sounds like she's about to cry, but the last line comes out steady and true. Felix is teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, but he refuses to fall asleep without hearing her say those last few lines again. This time, he can relish every roll and curl of her tongue forming every syllable, and it's no less magical than the first two times he's heard her say it.

**Here is the place where I love you**

Her voice quivers to a stop. Felix is all but asleep, his hand falling from his chest onto the grass. Maybe he is already asleep, and he's deep in a dream because it can be the only explanation for why Annette has suddenly put her lips onto his forehead, like a benediction, like a prayer, like a farewell.

And it can definitely explain why Annette repeats those last three words against his skin, her whisper soft and tentative, shy and sorrowful, uncertain and hesitant.

"I love you."

It must be a dream, for it can't be true. She's in love with someone else, a man who could actually bring her happiness instead of a boatload of emotional baggage and trauma. It must be a dream, for he wouldn't have had the courage elsewhere to turn his head and breathe those words right back at her as easily as he had at that tired, open moment.

"I love you."

It must be a dream, for it can only explain why when he wakes up, Annette is nowhere to be seen, and the only proof that she was ever there is the lingering ghost of her kiss on his forehead and the memory of unmistakable sorrow in her unearthly voice.

* * *

Three years pass.

So much has changed.

Felix, now twenty-three-years-old, successfully ascends into his role as the next head of Fraldarius Co. He vows to be better than his shitty father ever was, working tirelessly to prove himself.

In the end, it pays off. The endorsement rates from many of their sponsors shot up and in less than three months, managed to break records. Needless to say, Felix won the trust of his employees and under his direction, the future of the company is well-secured for a good few years at most.

His friends come into their own as well, in their own respective ways.

Naturally, Dimitri takes up the throne in a grand ceremony.

He proceeds to rule with firm justice and unerring kindness and is hailed by many to be one of the finest rulers this country has ever seen. Even Felix can't deny Dimitri's talent, and, thinking of that bitter day in the rain, comes up to the blonde man with a gruff apology and a less grudging acknowledgment of the king's rule. It's good to see that fierce, blue eyes shining with determination instead of with grief again.

Like Felix, Sylvain takes over his father's company with less drama and far more shrewdness than his friends had expected since his partying and philandering days.

After years and years of his girl-chasing nonsense, it comes as a sort of shock to his friends when the redhead announces his engagement. Not long after the wedding, Sylvain returns with another surprise: he and his wife are expecting their first child. Glenn would've poked fun at this, but Felix offers his own version of a dry congratulations instead, and Sylvain smiles at him, his old sharpness smoothed away.

Lastly, there was Ingrid in the air force. She was hailed to be one of the finest pilots in her flight unit, shooting up through the ranks until she has earned the title of Master Sergeant. The contrast between her age and her experience earns her many glowing admirers, and every time Felix sees her face in yet another feature article, he has to stifle the smile on his face.

Three years pass, and that's all it takes for Felix to get back on his feet, to recuperate past his emotional trauma. He lives freer, lighter, better... His friendships with Dimitri, Sylvain, and Ingrid are stronger than it was before. And as much as he'd hate to admit, but as the last surviving member of the Fraldarius family, the three became his second family.

Along with that, Felix made a bold decision to sell his family's estate. His mother, brother, and father have all lived in this house. Memories, both good and bad, were made inside.

But to Felix, it was and always will be a place of torture. A prison, as what he would define it to be. Staying there any longer would only trigger more awful things. Auctioning it for sale was really the best thing he can do.

And maybe, just maybe, the new owner could do much better.

Not long after he bids farewell to the family estate, Felix settles with getting his hands on a loft.

The location was convenient, to say the least, close enough to commute to his family's corporation building and not stray too far from his friends who all live at the heart of the Capital City.

A steady job, friends for company, and a brand-new home.

For the most part, everything was going well.

Yet something is still missing.

And deep down, Felix knows.

The image of a willow tree enters his mind, more so than he can count.

Sitting under the shade would be a young woman, bright orange curls and gorgeous blue eyes, humming lightly and weaving flowers into a crown.

Each time Felix comes to pay a visit, nobody is there.

It's been that way for three years now.

Yet, that doesn't stop him from going. He still comes at exactly four in the afternoon, passing the time by either sleeping, reading books, or admiring the flowers.

He visits—rain, shine, snow or sweltering in the heat.

Today, Felix journeys to Loog Park.

Same time, and same spot as before.

He trudges through the thick, powdery snow. He shoves his gloved hands further inside the front pockets of his coat, shivering as he walks on.

It was the third week of the Lone Moon.

Tomorrow would be the coming of spring.

At long last, Felix reaches his destination. Entering the base of the willow tree, he makes himself comfortable. He presses his back on the bark and slides to the ground, sighing deeply. His eyes wander up at the sweeping canopy.

The color of white blinds him.

Instantly, the memory of her disappearance reemerges. To this day, it stays fresh and crystal clear in his head.

Annette.

His Annette, and her sweet voice lulling him to sleep with her lullaby.

Her hands squeezing his own, and how wonderful it felt to know how perfectly they fit. He longs for her gentle touch, to see her adorable pouts, and hear her laughter to brighten his stressful days.

The memory, as lovely as it was, was also unpleasant.

It was a reminder of how much he loves her, only for her to slip away from his reach.

Like a fleeting moment, Annette was gone without a trace. And left him all alone under the willow tree.

Felix remembers waking up and scouring everywhere in the park to find her. He remembers screaming her name at the dead of night, hoping, wishing, _praying_, that this was all but a dream, that when he does wake up, she would still be here with him, grinning and singing more of her silly songs.

But when the morning sun arose, there was nothing, not even so much like a leftover memento of her presence. It was as if she had never been there at all.

It had haunted him. Why hadn't she said anything? Was it his fault? Did he overwhelm her with constantly coming to her to dump all of his sorrow and frustration and anger for her to absorb like a sponge until she couldn't take it anymore?

He stayed up till morning, exhausted and alone and terrified that she was gone forever. But the sun had burst over the horizon, insistent and constant, and Felix's phone chimed from a message from Ingrid and Sylvain, who were nearly out of their minds with worry after their best friend had disappeared completely after the funeral of his last immediate family member.

It made sense for them to worry. Felix remembers how grating and incessant their concern had been at the time, and how the way their relieved embraces seemed to stifle him instead of comforting him. Looking back, however, it makes total sense.

But the empty space under the willow tree still doesn't.

Felix closes his eyes and listens closely. The branches of the willow tree shudder, and it causes a small sprinkle of white snow to fall gracefully. It hits him, directly on the face, and he quickly wipes it off.

It's cold, and chilling to the bone.

Felix exhales and looks up at the sky. It's gray and full of silver clouds, with the sun nowhere to be found.

He shivers a little and tries hard to think of something, anything, to help him get through this.

A white dress, a little damp from the grass.

Dancing blue eyes that glowed like two full moons.

A yellow dandelion. Windblown seeds scattered by a single puff of breath.

Annette. Annette. _Annette._

Felix checks on his surroundings, making sure he was all alone. The coast was clear.

He breathes in deeply.

Closing his eyes, he thinks of her.

**"Deep in the meadow...under the willow. A bed of grass...a soft green pillow,"** He starts off the song clumsily, sounding feeble and shaky. **"Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes...when again they open...the sun will rise,"**

In spite of his efforts, his singing is coming off as a low whisper. It lacks harmony and spirit.

Yet, Felix does what he can to imitate Annette's singing.

**"Here it's safe...here it's warm...here the daisies guard you against every harm,"** Felix sings, furrowing his brows as he tries hard to remember the next few lines of the second verse.** "Here your dreams are sweet...and tomorrow brings them...true…"**

Finally, he reopens his eyes and gazes out to the horizon.

It's already getting dark.

His shoulders sag, and he heaves a deep breath. Felix puts a hand on the bark to steady himself as he rises from the ground. He looks to the tree, letting his gloved right hand remain in place. He turns to look at the branches overhead, to the dark heavens, and then back to the tree.

Felix turns to his right and he imagines Annette standing right next to him, beaming.

**"Here is the place…"**

With his other hand, he reaches out to her.

**"Where I…"**

He dares to touch her, but his fingers go through her face. His heartbreaks. He drops his hand to the side and the ghost of Annette withers. He grips his fist tightly and then lets it go. He lowers his head, staring blankly at the snow-covered grass with a defeated look.

It was always like this.

Each time he tries to sing the song, he could never bring himself to finish it.

But maybe just this once…

"I love you," Felix mouths softly, and smiles sorrowfully. "I am still hopelessly, irretrievably in love with you," He looks up to the sky one more time and says, "Please come back to me. Please, Annette?"

Silence answers him.

Then suddenly, a happy sob from behind him shatters that silence like a pane of glass.

Felix whirls around, nearly slipping in the damp grass in his shock. An embarrassing sound bursts from his lips once he sees who's standing in front of him.

Three years.

Three years have passed, and yet Annette is still as radiant as he remembered. Even with her hands covering her mouth, and her eyes filling with tears, Felix feels all the breath leave his lungs as he all but falls to his knees in front of her. The sight of her alone has weakened him.

She hasn't changed, and yet she has. Annette is glowing, glowing like she carries the sun in her heart. Her eyes blaze a brighter blue than the wintry sky above them, and her windblown hair is like redder than fire. She's still wearing that long, white dress. And it could be that his rapidly blurring eyes are playing tricks on him, but he thinks that she's almost...floating…?

But it's Annette, and she's here, she's actually here.

Another sound leaves his throat, and belatedly Felix realizes that it's a disbelieving, broken, overjoyed sound.

"I…" Annette tries to speak, and she swallows, her eyes fever-bright. Two golden-white feathery things flutter anxiously behind her back. "I'm so sor-"

Felix pitches forward and seizes her in his arms. He holds her tight against him, burying his face in her hair, in her sweet spring smell. He runs his hands over the pale expanse of her arms, over the soft fullness of her hips, around the divot in the small of her back.

Felix knows he's being greedy, that he's being selfish by manhandling her like this, but Annette is clinging just as tightly to him as he is to her. She's on her tiptoes, straining to reach up to him, and he's bowing over to bury his face in her neck, and just like before, it's nothing and everything has changed-

He dazedly realizes that they're crying together. They're such fools, such delirious fools.

"Why did you leave?" Felix gasps into her warmth. Annette hiccups on another sob, her arms tightening around him like a vise. It's a sweet way to die. "I loved you. I still do. But I knew you loved someone else, and I couldn't help it—"

"I love you too, silly." Annette's voice trembles just as much as she is in his hold. "More than anything"

His world stops turning. "But—"

"I wasn't really supposed to." Annette babbles on, her fingers anxiously twisting in his hair. "I was just supposed to be there one time and you were supposed to only listen once but then you kept coming back and I fell in love with you, because how couldn't I, when you kept listening and looking at me like I really mattered to you not just as a guardian but as a human—"

"Annette—"

"And they kept telling me it was a bad idea to fall in love with you-" Annette continues, her fingers tightening around his collar as her blush deepened further and further, "—and we were so different, I knew you would eventually grow tired of me, and then one day I saw you with your friends and your eyes were so bright and I realized that everyone was right…" She trails off, and her eyes turn glossy. "That you didn't need me anymore..."

"That's not true! " Felix rasps, his hands tightening around her. "I needed you the day I first heard you sing,"

Annette shudders in his arms. "Felix..."

"Sing for me, please," Felix asks, begs, pleads. "Sing for me so I know that this isn't some fever dream and that you're really here."

Annette chokes a bit of wobbly laughter. "You still want to hear me sing, after all this time?"

"Yeah." He mumbled into her hair, drunk off of the smell of her. "Is it pathetic to say so?"

"Maybe a little." Annette tugs at his cheek and Felix's knees nearly buckle at the wave of age-old familiarity that sweeps through him. "But I'll do it anyway."

She clears her throat, and when she finally begins to sing, it's as if he has finally broken through the water's surface to breathe again.

**Here it's safe, here it's warm**

Annette isn't singing like she's putting on a performance. She sings to him, looking at him even through her lowered lashes, and her fingers are ever-so-lightly anchoring him in place. The world is revolving solely around the two of them now.

**Here the daisies guard you from every harm**

In the next line, her voice breaks, and Annette beams at him through a veil of tear-stained lashes as she breathes the words so feather-soft that he has to lean in to hear her.

**Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**

Felix bends his head down to hers as Annette draws in a breath for the last line. He can count the constellation of freckles on her face. Annette pauses, mesmerized by their proximity, and his heart races.

**Here is the place where I love you**

She barely breathes out the last three words before he's kissing her, cradling her face in his hands as he marvels at how the reality outshines the dream, at how the dandelion has conquered the winter so easily.

This very moment was magical.

It was everything they could ever want and more.

Felix tilts his head, deepening the kiss. Annette gladly reciprocates, feeling a little light-headed, and drunk out of her mind. But she doesn't question it.

Her large, golden wings flapped gracefully, keeping her afloat.

From the ground below, something magical happens.

Tiny sprouts of flowers creep out from the snow-covered grass, all white and yellow, dance harmoniously around them.

The pair pays no mind, savoring what they believe to be their very first and last moment together.

Felix kisses her and kisses her until they finally break apart, gasping as her feet touch the earth and his arms fall around the fullness of her waist.

All of a sudden, Annette lets out a gasp.

She looks at Felix who stares back at her in worry.

"What's wrong?" Felix asks quickly, caressing her cheek and searching her face. "Did I hurt you?"

Annette shakes her head and gives him another one of her beautiful smiles. A stream of tears flows down, and Felix starts to panic. And yet, she's crying and smiling at the same time.

He drinks in the sight, still quite lost and wary. When he lowers his gaze, that's when he sees it.

Feathers.

Flowers.

The feeling of happiness, the feeling of hope.

The color of the sun.

Yellow.

They were all yellow. Including her dress.

"Annette?"

"I can't believe it..." Annette sobs, smiling away with tears still leaking from her glassy, blue eyes. "They heard us...they actually…"

Sothis, and the four Saints—Macuil, Indech, Cichol, and Cethleann—they all heard her and her wish.

At long last, it's finally come true.

Her large, golden wings and her white gown were no more.

Annette Fantine Dominic was human.

She could finally be with him.

Felix watches her lit up, more vibrant than ever before as if she was experiencing the world anew. Chuckling, he leans in to put their foreheads together. "You sound like a dream." He says in a mock-accusatory tone, his heart light and confused and happy.

Annette giggles, her fingers coming up to touch her lips with a whimsical air. "You taste like one."

His brain stops.

Annette smiles at him with the mischief he's long since recognized in the roguish planes of Sylvain's face.

"I love you," Felix says foolishly after his brain fails to supply him with a witty comeback. "I think you're beautiful and incredible and I don't want to ever lose you again..."

Annette giggles at his childishness. "You won't," She says softly, threading her hand in his with the same dexterity that she used to weave flower stems into crowns. "I'll make sure of that,"

Felix shivers, but it's not from the cold.

He places his hand over her other hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing them.

They really do fit perfectly.

Looking up, they lock eyes.

"I love you so very, very much," Annette says, sniffing. She cracks a smile as Felix gently wipes her tears away with the back of his gloved hand, and lets it stay on her rosy left cheek for a moment. "I promise to make you happier than anyone's ever been…"

Felix musters a smile. "In that case, I'd better start planning for the future," He whispers faintly, leaning in. "My future...with you."

A blush spreads on Annette's cheeks. "A future…with you…" She echoes and lets out a giggle. "I would like that very much,"

With a smile, Felix dives in and Annette does the same, sealing their unspoken promise for good.

* * *

**Thank you for your time reading! Let us know your thoughts of our first collab!**

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